Ignite Me (The Annihilate Me Series) (2 page)

And Blackwell,
who was wearing a bright-yellow Chanel suit that accentuated her black bob,
looked at me with new eyes.
 
“Who
are
you, Madison Wells?”

Before I could
catch myself, I said, “A survivor.”

“What does that
mean?”

“That I’ll rise
above my current situation and succeed.
 
Despite everything, I’m still an optimist, Ms. Blackwell.
 
The dreams I have for myself remain
bright and alive—I just need to find the right opportunity in order to
make them come true.
 
This is a big
city.
 
I’ll either realize those
dreams at Wenn or somewhere else, because that’s how determined I am.”

“Because it’s
in your blood?”

“That’s exactly
it.”

“Well, you’re
an interesting one, aren’t you?
 
Something’s driving you, and I have to wonder what that is.
 
Not that it’s any of my business.”
 
She folded her arms in front of her
chest.
 
“Do you have any idea of how
difficult it will be to work for me?”

“I have a
fairly good idea—and I’m ready for that challenge.”

“I won’t
bullshit you, Madison—it will be the biggest challenge of your life.
 
While I appreciate everything that
you’ve just revealed to me—what you’ve been through, how you’ve been
overlooked—that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be soft on you.”

“Why would you
be?”

“Precisely.
 
And in fact, since I now know that in a
year you’ll want to explore other opportunities at Wenn, I might even be harder
on you than you’d expect.”

“If that’s the
case, my only question is this—if I were a man, would you say the same
thing to me now?”

“Without
hesitation.”

“Then that’s
all I need to know,” I said.
 
“And
that’s also why I’m here today.
 
Everything I’ve read about you suggests that all you expect from an
employee is something fairly close to perfection.
 
Both of us know that none of us is
perfect.
 
Mistakes will be made, and
if you hire me, I will make my share of them as I come to know the job.
 
But I will also learn from those
mistakes and not repeat them.”

“How soon
before you can release yourself from Microchip?”

Is she about to
hire me?
 
Could this be the break
I’ve been waiting for?

“Immediately,”
I said.

That seemed to
surprise her.
 
“Wouldn’t you at
least want to give the fine, upstanding people at Microchip two weeks’ notice?”

“Actually, I
wouldn’t.
 
They’ve dangled that
carrot of theirs since the day I was hired, and that carrot turned out to be
rotten to its core.
 
Frankly, I
don’t feel as if I owe them a damned thing.”

“Well, that
certainly put a chill into the room, didn’t it?
 
But given the circumstances, I suppose
it’s fair enough.
 
If you’re willing
to accept the job, your starting salary will be ninety thousand dollars.
 
Is that suitable?”
 

When she tossed
out that number, I forced myself to keep my expression neutral.
 
But inside, I couldn’t believe the
figure, which underscored just how serious Barbara Blackwell was about this
position.
 
She indeed wanted the
best; she was willing to pay for it; and that person would have to deliver on
all levels.

“That would be
fine,” I said as calmly as I could.

“I thought so,
though do expect to work long hours.
 
Any issues with that?”

“None.”

“No boyfriend
to take you away from work?”

I hadn’t been
with a man in years.
 
“No.
 
I’m too focused on my career to have a
boyfriend.
 
A boyfriend is out of
the question for me right now.”

“Well,
then—that’s just about perfect.
 
Wenn will also pay twenty thousand dollars toward your student loans for
each year that you work for us—assuming that you have any, which you
likely do since you hail from Harvard after all.
 
Beginning immediately, you will have free
access to Wenn Fitness, which is a high-end, exclusive health club with
locations all over the city.
 
I
don’t use the service myself, but I hear that it’s popular.
 
Health and dental are fully
covered—you will pay nothing toward that.
 
As for vacation time, you will accrue a
month’s worth for each year you work at Wenn.
 
The same goes for sick time—not
that I expect you to get sick on me.
 
Ever.”

“May I ask you
a question?”

“Of course.”

“Whom will I be
replacing—and where is that person going?”

Blackwell
lifted her chin.
 
“You are replacing
my former personal assistant Margaret Dowd,” she said.
 
“I put her through a grueling first six
months, but in the end, she turned out to be a terrific assistant.
 
Last week, I promoted her to become the
director of human resources at Wenn.
 
As hard as I work, there is only so much that even I can do,
particularly since I work so closely with Alexander Wenn, who owns this
company, which often takes me out of the office so I can help to collaborate
with him and his wife Jennifer.
 
At
this point, Margaret knows this department and its policies almost as well as I
do.
 
So, the job and the significant
promotion that came with it went to her because she deserved it.”

“How long has
she worked for at Wenn?”

“She began with
me a year ago.”

And that sealed
the deal for me.

“Would you like
the job, Ms. Wells?” she asked.

“I would, Ms.
Blackwell.”

“I’m happy to
hear that, because it’s yours.
 
But
try not to disappoint me.”

Feeling
slightly faint that this had come together so quickly, I stood up when she did
and shook her hand.
 
“Thank you so
much.
 
I won’t disappoint you.”

“While of
course that’s nice to hear, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t
we?
 
But for the record,
Madison—I do hear you when you say that it has been difficult to get
ahead in this city due to your gender.
 
For me, all you need to do is to you prove yourself.
 
Work hard.
 
Learn fast.
 
And know that at first, none of this is
going to be easy.
 
But one day?
 
If you last long enough so that I can wrangle
you into the employee I want you to become, then I promise you this:
 
At my discretion, and in either a few
months’ time or within one year, I will find something far more exciting and
worthwhile for you at Wenn.”

“I’d appreciate
that,” I said.

“Good.
 
Then I’ll see you tomorrow at seven
sharp?”

“You will.”

She put her
hands on her hips.
 
“Just don’t
think about showing up late.”

I was about to
say that I wouldn’t when a knock came at the door and Blackwell said, “That
will be Brock.
 
Another new hire.
 
You’ll be seeing a lot of him over the
next week or so as he gets settled into his new position, so why don’t you open
the door and I’ll introduce the two of you?”

“I’d be happy
to meet him,” I said.

CHAPTER
TWO

When I opened
the door, I had no idea that I was about to face one of the sexiest, most
gorgeous-looking men I’d seen in years—and Manhattan was full of handsome
men.
 
But not quite like this
man.
 
As my eyes looked up to meet
his, I felt my lips part and my breath catch.

“Madison Wells,
Brock Wenn,” Blackwell said.

We shook hands,
and his engulfed mine for a beat too long before I pulled away.

“Hello,
Madison,” he said.

Could his voice
be any deeper?

“It’s nice to
meet you, Brock.”

Could my voice
sound any shakier?

“I’ve just
hired Madison as my new personal assistant, Brock.”

Why is my heart
beating so fast?

“Congratulations,”
he said.

“Thank
you.
 
I’m very excited.”

In fact, you
can probably see my excitement right now because my nipples have just decided
to bust out and press firmly against my suit.
 
Look at me—an absolute
professional to the core!

He leaned
toward me and lowered his voice.
 
“And by the way,” he said, “no one at Wenn would blame you if you’re
also a bit terrified at the prospect of working for
that one
.”

“Please,” Blackwell
said.
 
“Just because I’ve known you
since you were a boy and you’ve got the Wenn name, you’re still starting out at
the bottom, Brock.
 
And from that
very low point, you will start looking up to me now and show me some respect.”

“Just kidding,”
he said.
 

“Fine, but just
so you know—I wasn’t joking.”

When he stood
up, I didn’t smell a trace of cologne in the sudden movement of
air—instead, all I smelled was him.
 
And it was intoxicating.
 

It wasn’t like
me to have such a visceral reaction to someone so fast, but that’s clearly what
was happening to me now.
 
He was
exactly my type.
 
Tall and dark,
muscular and fit, his eyes as brown as mine.
 
His closely trimmed beard only
heightened his masculinity.

You need to
check yourself, girl.
 
He’s just a
man
.
 
Get yourself
together.
 
You’ll see him a few
times, and then he’ll be gone.

“Since Brock is
going through a complicated hire, I’ll be working closely with him as it’s
determined where Alex and Jennifer want to place him.
 
If we’re lucky, that should take no
longer than a week.
 
But expect him
to be in this office for that week.”

A week?
 
I don’t think I can handle being around
this man for even five more minutes.

“Brock is going
into acquisitions,” Blackwell said.

Then let’s just
cut to the chase and allow him to acquire me.

“But there’s a
question as to which company Alex and Jennifer want him to target.
 
And at what level of involvement.
 
That sort of thing.
 
And schedules are involved, which always
are difficult to balance.
 
So, once
again, it’s complicated.
 
But when
the decision is made, Brock’s title will come from that decision.
 
He already knows all of this, of course,
but since I’ll eventually be handing over his paperwork for you to process and
file, it’s good for you to also know what’s coming.”

What’s coming
might just be me if he doesn’t stop staring at me like that.

“Brock is
Alex’s first cousin,” Blackwell said.
 
“Not that that affords him any special treatment, because it doesn’t.”

“I don’t expect
any,” Brock said.
 
“I’m grateful for
what Alex and Jennifer have done for me.”

“As you should
be.
 
Though I am pleased to hear
that you recognize their generosity.
 
Now, much like Madison here, you just need to prove yourself.”
 
She flipped her bob away from her
face.
 
“And by the way, no pressure
there.”

“I work best
under pressure,” we both said at once, and when we said that, we just looked at
each other and laughed.

“Sorry,” I
said.

“Sounds like
we’re a couple of type A’s.”

“Oh, dear,”
Blackwell said, almost to herself, as she looked at us with new eyes.
 
“Well, that happened quickly, didn’t
it?”
 
She stepped toward me.
 
“I’ll see you here tomorrow, Madison.
 
You know, before my office windows fog
up?”

She’d obviously
sensed my attraction to him.
 
I felt
so embarrassed, I just looked at her.

“Brock, have a
seat.”

As he brushed
past me, he glanced sideways at me.

“Madison, to
the elevator.
 
And perhaps then to
Central Park, where you can find a nice quiet spot in the shade, think long and
hard about what truly matters to you at this point in your life—you know,
all the things that you just said to me—and hopefully that alone will
clear your head of everything that’s swirling through it right now.
 
That is, of course, if you’re even
capable of hearing me at this point, because I’m not sure that you are.
 
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I stepped out
of her office and before I could say another word, she shut the door in my
face.
 
And there I stood alone, my
instant connection to an unknown man already exposed in front of my new boss.

And I felt
humiliated to the core.